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Your First Year Sober

Human beings make a habit of marking time. We celebrate our birthday and those we love. We mark years and decades by accomplishments, tragedies, innovations, deaths and more. Coming up on our first year of sobriety can be very exciting and a chance to reflect from whence and how far we have come. Our first year of sobriety is also a reminder that we have been sober one day at a time for 365 days. Each new day is a day in which we don’t drink, and in which we can celebrate our life.

A lot happened in our first year. One day we were homeless, and the next we found shelter. One day we were unemployed, the next we had a job. The job wasn’t great, but we were grateful. Someone believed in us and we found ourselves in a studio apartment. We were on our way digging out from our bottom.

We got sober through the fellowship of AA, or we began our journey at an addiction rehab facility. We learned about the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction. They are family diseases, and disease rife with denial. We faced ourselves in the mirror and decided, based on information we garnered, the best chance for a fulfilling life is to make changes in our behavior and attitudes.

We slacked off meetings and embraced them again. We learned to admit when we were wrong. We learned when to let go of people, places and things. The Serenity Prayer proved extremely useful to our peace of mind. We persevered in difficult times without our substance of choice. We knew drinking wouldn’t make our pain vanish.

In our first year of sobriety, we made new friends and learned to laugh again. Not only did we laugh at funny circumstances, but sometimes we laughed at ourselves. We became angry and hurt someone. We didn’t want to apologize, but then realized we were in the wrong. Humility found its way to us, and we apologized.

Congratulations for making the commitment to yourself 365 days in a row. Congratulations for staying sober today and for having the courage to get honest with yourself. There’s a saying about getting your marbles after so many years of sobriety, but here’s the truth—you’ve already given yourself stars and moonglow.

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s a day you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.”― Margaret Thatcher

If you someone you know is struggling with drugs and alcohol, Serenity Oaks Wellness Center can help to get you sober. Our 12-Step aspects and holistic therapy can show you how to adorn your soul in recovery.